Rivers Crisis: Why Pro-Fubara Speaker Resigned, Vacated Seat

Facts have emerged as to the resignation of Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Ehie, recognised by an order of the Rivers State High Court, was loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The lawmaker, who represented Ahoada-East Constituency 2 in the State House of Assembly, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Sunday evening, also vacated his seat as a member of the House.

According to Leadership Newspaper, the resignation of the factional speaker was never part of the resolutions reached during a peace parley on the Rivers State political crisis, presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja in December 2023.

Sources, however, hinted that Ehie resigned his position to allegedly create a vacuum in the House in order to accommodate some of the resolutions of the Abuja peace pact.

Feelers also suggest that the decision was to allegedly pave way for his appointment as the Chief of Staff to the Governor, even though the current Chief of Staff, Hon. Chidi Amadi, is yet to resign his appointment.

Another reason adduced to Ehie’s resignation was to allow the National Assembly to take over the Rivers State House of Assembly since the House has only five members following the declaration of the seats of 25 members vacant after their defection from PDP to APC.